As elected representatives, councillors are a critical part of local government. Councillors are members of political parties (or run as independent candidates), but they are responsible for everyone who lives within their ward or constituency, regardless of who you voted for. We need councillors who make good decisions on behalf of the whole community and who work hard to make sure our services are delivered properly. 

Every five years, South Africans elect councillors in local government elections. Depending on where you live, you have 2 or 3 ballot papers in local elections. One ballot paper is used to directly elect a ward councillor who will represent people in your area, known as a “ward”, in the municipal council. This is the ballot you use to elect  your ward councillor. 

The other ballot allows you to choose a party to represent you in the metropolitan council (for cities) or the local council (for towns and rural areas). If you live in a smaller town or rural area, you will have a third ballot to elect a party to the district council. The party ballots are used to give political parties the power to choose proportional representative (PR) councillors. 

What are the responsibilities of councillors?

Councillors must listen to and represent the interests of their communities in municipal councils. 

Ward councillors should have a good understanding of their community’s priorities and challenges. Each councillor is responsible for organising meetings with a ward committee, made up of at the most, ten residents in the ward who are elected from the ward and serve voluntarily to inform councillors of issues and interests in the ward. Councillors need to take these interests to the municipal council when they make decisions on important issues and budgets. 

Councillors create and vote on municipal bylaws and budgets. These have to be passed by a majority vote of a municipal council. Municipalities have to provide the public with a chance to review and give feedback on bylaws and budgets before councillors vote on them.

Councillors must abide by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct

All councillors in South Africa must abide by high ethical standards laid out in the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. This document holds them accountable for a number of responsibilities such as participating in council meetings, fulfilling obligations to their communities, disclosing conflicts of interest and not abusing their position or privileges. 

Councillors must keep their communities informed 

Councillors have an important role to play in monitoring how well a municipality is carrying out its responsibilities. If municipal officials fail to deliver services, a councillor has the responsibility to follow up and ask questions until officials are held to account and services are provided.

How can you hold your councillor accountable? 

Invite your councillor to your community meetings. If your neighbourhood is organised into a residents' association or another kind of active citizens’ group that meets regularly, reach out to your councillor and get them to come listen to your group. This can be a great chance to establish good communication with your councillor and build a strong relationship with them. 

Connect with your ward committee. Ask around to find out which residents are on your ward committee. Getting their help to solve local issues can be a good way to hold your councillor to account. However, many wards have no active committees, councillors often do not attend the meetings, or the committee has been entirely captured by the councillor’s political party. If your ward committee is not functioning, mobilise residents, or write a petition to the municipal council to demand regular public meetings and transparency from your councillor. 

Be active in council meetings. Everyone has the right to attend and ask questions at most municipal council meetings. Use these meetings as an opportunity to publicly engage with your councillor in a forum where they are forced to be responsive to you. It’s the job of a municipal manager to publicise every meeting of the council. 

Report your councillor. Some councillors do a great job of advocating for their communities and reporting on local issues. But too many are absent, difficult to get hold of, or engage in unethical conduct. You can report them to their political party whip, the Office of the Chief Whip of the Council or to the Office of the Speaker. You can find the contact details for these offices for your municipality here. These offices are responsible for upholding ethical conduct and have the authority to investigate and take disciplinary action if necessary.

Vote your councillor out. Sometimes, the only way to deal with an incompetent or compromised councillor is to mobilise your community so that you elect a new councillor in the next local government elections. 

If the elections are too far away, you can create a campaign to demand that they resign. If you succeed in getting your ward councillor to resign, a by-election will be held to allow your community the opportunity to choose someone who better represents you. 

Acknowledgments 

Some material adapted from Activist's Guide to Making Local Government Work.

Photo by LT Ngema on Unsplash